Seeing Xuan Yuanzhan's conflicted expression, Su Xuening tentatively asked, "If the Emperor were not your biological father, would you still fight for the throne?"

Xuan Yuanzhan was taken aback again. After thinking for a long time, he lowered his eyes to look at Su Xuening and her round belly, and said firmly, "Yes!"

He fought for the throne not for anything else, but solely to protect her and his mother.

Because whether it is Xuanyuan Yu or Xuanyuan Zhi who takes the throne, Consort Su and Consort Liang will not let their mother off the hook, nor will they let him off the hook for vying with them for the throne. He will also implicate her and their child.

So now that he's started, he can't back down; he has to fight for the throne to the very end!

Xuan Yuanzhan's words instantly put Su Xuening at ease. Su Xuening smiled and said, "Since this matter won't affect what you're doing or your plans, why think about it so much?"

Xuanyuan Zhan: "..."

That seems to make sense.

Regardless of whether Xuanyuan Peng was his father or not, because of his favoritism towards him, he treated him as his biological father, so there was really no need to think too much about it.

"Go to sleep, it's getting late." Xuan Yuanzhan gently patted Su Xuening's back, holding her so she wouldn't overthink things, and she quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Xuanyuan Zhan went to court.

The atmosphere in the Eastern Chu court today was oppressive, and even the air seemed stagnant.

Xuanyuan Peng swept his cold gaze across the assembled officials below: "The famine in the north has lasted for years, and the number of disaster victims is increasing. Now, banditry has broken out. What do you all think we should do to solve this?"

Xuanyuan Peng asked such a sharp question right from the start, and all the ministers lowered their heads and dared not look up, for fear that Xuanyuan Peng would see them.

The famine in the North has been going on for years. If it could be solved so easily, it wouldn't have dragged on for so long. Who has any good ideas?

No one spoke, and Xuan Yuanpeng's face grew even colder. He directly called out, "Liu Zhenghe, you are the Minister of Revenue, you speak."

Liu Zhenghe, the Minister of Revenue, immediately stepped forward, bowed to Xuan Yuanpeng, and said, "I believe that the famine in the north is severe and there are countless victims. The court should open the granaries and distribute grain."

This perfectly correct answer did not satisfy Xuan Yuanpeng much. Xuan Yuanpeng glanced at Zhao Xiang, who was standing at the front: "Zhao Ji, what do you say!"

Chancellor Zhao Ji also stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that Minister Liu's words are absolutely correct. Currently, the northern region is plagued by famine and banditry, and the people are filled with anxiety. The court's opening of the granaries and distribution of grain can reassure the people of the north."

Seeing that Zhao Ji also said so, Xuan Yuanpeng immediately rebuked him coldly and displeasedly: "You make it sound so easy to open the granaries and release grain. One of you is the Minister of Revenue and the other is the Prime Minister of Eastern Chu. You know best how much grain is collected each year. Do you think the granaries of Eastern Chu can release grain a few more times?"

Xuan Yuanpeng's words made Zhao Ji and Liu Zhenghe both lower their heads in shame.

Indeed, the country is currently suffering from various calamities, and the Eastern Chu court is also in dire need of funds.

Moreover, it's not that the granaries haven't been opened and grain distributed before, but each time they were opened and grain was distributed, it couldn't quench the thirst, let alone solve the fundamental problem, so it didn't have much effect. In recent years, the famine in the north has not only not decreased, but seems to have become more and more serious, so it's no wonder that the emperor is unwilling to open the granaries and distribute grain again.

Xuanyuan Peng glanced at the eager generals on his right and said, "Li Da, you seem to have something to say."

Upon hearing this, Li Da immediately stepped forward, bowed, and replied, "I am but a military officer and know nothing about disaster relief. However, the famine in the north has lasted for many years, and I'm afraid it cannot be resolved in a short time. But we can deal with the banditry in the north first."

Looking at his confident demeanor, Xuanyuan Peng was somewhat speechless: "How do you solve this?"

“Send a general to the north to suppress the bandits.”

The general's answer was so simple and direct that it gave Xuanyuan Peng a headache.

Xuanyuan Peng then looked at Xuanyuan Yu: "Third brother, what do you think should be done about this?"

Xuanyuan Yu immediately stepped forward: "Your subject believes that General Li's words are absolutely correct. The famine in the north is not a problem that arose overnight, and it will be difficult to fundamentally solve the disaster in a short time. However, we cannot allow bandits to run rampant in the north. We must eliminate the banditry as soon as possible. Your subject is willing to lead troops to the north!"

Xuanyuan Yu spoke the last sentence with such fervor and righteous indignation, as if he were ready to sacrifice himself for Eastern Chu at any moment.

Xuan Yuanzhi glanced at Xuan Yuanyu with a leisurely look, feeling extremely displeased.

This third brother is really good at stealing credit. Bandits are rampant in the north, and the people are living in misery. Going to the north to suppress the bandits is definitely a good opportunity to win over the hearts of the people.

Xuanyuan Zhi thought for a moment and then stepped forward, saying, "Father, I believe that the people of the North are already living in misery. If they are further bullied by bandits, there is a risk of popular uprising. Since the famine cannot be resolved in the short term, the court cannot allow the bandits to run rampant. We can deal with the bandits first. I am also willing to lead troops to the North to suppress the bandits!"

Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanzhi also tried to steal the credit, which made Xuan Yuanyu instantly a little angry.

This second son, on the surface, submits to him, but in reality, he still covets the position of crown prince!

Faced with the enthusiastic Xuan Yuanzhi, Xuan Yuanpeng did not respond, but instead looked at Xuan Yuanzhan: "What does Zhan'er think?"

Upon hearing Xuan Yuanpeng's question to Xuan Yuanzhan, both Xuan Yuanyu and Xuan Yuanzhi instantly showed expressions of jealousy.

The Emperor really favors Xuanyuan Zhan too much; he never forgets him when it comes to taking credit for others!

Ignoring the envious gazes of Xuanyuan Yu and Xuanyuan Zhi, Xuanyuan Zhan stepped forward and said, "My fief is in Xiangnan, located in the southernmost part of Eastern Chu. It is rainy and humid all year round, and often suffers from floods, and the people often suffer from famine."

The courtiers were somewhat bewildered by Xuanyuan Zhan's seemingly random and incoherent words.

What does the Holy King mean by this? The Emperor clearly asked about the famine in the north, so why is the Holy King talking about the floods in the south?

Xuanyuan Yu instantly seemed to have caught Xuanyuan Zhan red-handed, and angrily said, "Xuanyuan Zhan, what do you mean? I asked you to talk about the famine and banditry in the north, why are you talking about Xiangnan? Is it to show that you have a fiefdom?"

Despite Xuan Yuan Yu's clamor, Xuan Yuan Zhan didn't even glance at him, completely ignoring him.

Although Xuanyuan Peng didn't know why Xuanyuan Zhan suddenly said these things, he knew that Xuanyuan Zhan wouldn't bring them up without a reason.

Xuanyuan Peng thought for a moment and said, "Liu Zhenghe, I remember that there has been no grain relief for Xiangnan for many years."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenghe glanced at Xuan Yuanzhan and bowed, saying, "Yes, the imperial court has not sent grain to Xiangnan for nearly ten years, and Xiangnan also pays a considerable amount of taxes every year."

Upon hearing this, the assembled officials were all shocked and looked at each other in disbelief.

What does this mean? Just now, the Holy King said that Xiangnan is frequently plagued by floods and the people are suffering from famine. Why is it that the court doesn't need to open the granaries to distribute grain, but instead has surplus grain to pay taxes?

Moreover, Xiangnan was the Holy King's fiefdom. Even if the people had surplus grain to pay taxes, the Holy King had the right to keep it for himself. So why did he hand it all over?